Wow. This was a surprise coming from Forbes ...
Rush Limbaugh's Non-Apology Apology
John McQuaid, Contributor, Forbes.com -- 3/03/2012
The art of the non-apology apology is often crude: a condescending, second insult on top of the first, really. But you’ve got to hand it to Rush Limbaugh. He issued a non-apology apology that was much more finely crafted than what we usually get. But no less insulting to the poor woman he spent several days attacking and defaming, and to the intelligence of anyone who paid attention.
As I’ve written before, the non-apology apology is issued under pressure in order to make a controversy go away, without actually expressing any contrition or admitting anything untoward happened, attributing problems to the perceptions of others. ”I’m sorry if anyone might have been offended by what I said,” is the prototypical non-apology apology.
[...]
The Limbaugh non-apology is more sophisticated than this, though, because it must placate a third party – his sponsors – who are not happy. So it’s tricky. He tries to non-apologize by saying it was all just a big joke that no one should have taken seriously [... more ...]
"Whoever might have been offended by his jokes" -- why not just call it of woman-kind ... and then add in the people that love and respect them.
Of course Rush is still just laughing it off as all part of his "absurd" schick -- that's why he gets paid the BIG BUCKS, doncha know ...
A Lucrative Deal for Rush Limbaugh
By Brian Stelter, NYTimes -- July 3, 2008
The A.M. radio host will be paid about $400 million to continue serving up his daily dose of conservative patter through 2016. His $50 million a year paycheck represents a raise of about $14.4 million a year over his current contract, which was paying him $285 million over eight years and was set to expire in 2009.
Limbaugh:
$50 Million a year.
and assuming 200 shows per year, that's approx. $250,000 per episode.
Or close to 1 million dollars in salary for the several days he spent "joking" about Sandra Fluke's character.
THAT is what Rush is "sorry" about -- the fact that his no-questions-asked gravy-train meal-ticket may be about to screech to an abrupt halt.
He'll be crying real tears of regret the day that happens.
The day his cushy gig, turns him into just another out of work radio-personality has-been.
(Hey Mitt, Bain Capital must have some 'morality escape clause' in Rush's contract, don't you? As major Corporate Owners you can't afford to lose all that advertising revenue can you? All because of one overpaid loud-mouth "jokester entertainer" ... long past his prime?)
On that day when the screen door finally hits him on his overpaid lard ass, maybe Rush can check in with Glenn Beck to see if the Beckster's hiring ? They are both cut from the same "crocodile tears" cloth, afterall.
They could be kind of like an updated Abbott and Costello act, another comedy team for the ages ...
Not. Ha ha.
They're just two overpaid hacks who have both over-played their media usefulness, any sane fair-minded person would say ... All you got to do is listen to the act!